Road to WWE Wrestlemania 33: Week 3
This week on the Road to Wrestlemania titles changed hands, friendships were shattered, and the feuds for Wrestlemania are becoming are more obvious. On Monday Night, the Festival of Friendship was the big thing that was being promoted. Chris Jericho looked like he was having a good time but Kevin Owens wasn’t. The segment ended with a vicious beat down that sent Chris Jericho to the hospital. The other beat down that took place in that segment was Owens attack Gillberg. Gillberg returned as part of Jericho’s jokes. Earlier in the night the cameras caught Kevin Owens talking to Triple H in what looked like a pretty serious conversation. I wonder if Kevin’s conversation Triple H had anything to do with the attack on Jericho. Speaking of Triple H and attacks, Samoa Joe made his presence known again when he attacked Sami Zayn. Samoa Joe is being pushed very heavily right now and I will be curious to see where his career goes from here. Monday Night ended with a highly contested Women’s Title match between Charlotte Flair and Bayley. This was another classic encounter for the Women’s Division and the night ended with Bayley holding the championship high. My worst fear is that Bayley will drop it Fastlane and they play hot potato with the title for 5 months like they did with Sasha Banks and Charlotte. Fastlane is just a few short weeks away so hopefully things will be different.
Tuesday Night we felt the fallout from the Elimination Chamber where the new WWE Champion Bray Wyatt addressed the crowd. Before he could really start his celebration John Cena and AJ Styles came out and both demanded their one one rematch for the WWE Championship. Daniel Bryan came out and made a triple threat match for title as the main event of the night. Before the match began Luke Harper came out and attacked Bray Wyatt which left little doubt that he’s definitely on his own. This was incredible Wrestlemania worthy main event and title match. Styles and Cena have some of the best chemistry I’ve seen in a long time. It’s almost disappointing that they won’t be involved in the WWE Title match at Wrestlemania. The night ended with Randy Orton coming out stating that as long as Bray Wyatt is WWE Champion he will not fight him at Wrestlemania. I will be curious to see how this story plays out over the next few weeks. One thing I always enjoy about Smackdown is the fact that they use all of their women on a regular basis. Even Carmella who isn’t wrestling right now is in a comedic storyline with James Ellsworth. I just enjoy the Smackdown Women’s Division as a whole more then I do Raw’s. The one feud that is intriguing heading into Wrestlemania is Dean Ambrose and Baron Corbin. I feel like Dean will be able to do more with Corbin then he did with Lesnar last year during Wrestlemania season. Ambrose and Corbin are both intense individuals and it will make for a great Intercontinental Title match at Wrestlemania.
Following Smackdown we moved over to the WWE Network for 205 Live. I love how Alicia Fox is involved with some of the main stories on the show. I think it’s a great fit for her considering she’s not highlighted on Raw as much anymore. She makes Noam Dar’s matches really fun and entertaining to watch. Even though Dar lost to Rich Swann it’s just so funny to see Dar and Fox together. Gran Metalik who was in the finals of the Cruiserweight Classic made his much anticipated debut against Drew Gulak. I can honestly say that I was not very impressed. I don’t know if it was the different styles or what but I couldn’t get into it. Neville continued his reign of terror by defeating TJ Perkins in a highly contested bout. I really love that Neville and Jack Gallagher are feuding. Both show different sides of the U.K. culture and have very different personalities. I can’t wait to see how the Cruiserweight Division plays out heading into Wrestlemania.
Speaking of the United Kingdom, it was really great to see WWE UK Champion defend his title against Trent Seven. This was a treat to see and a really entertaining match. I hope we start seeing more use of the UK stars soon. The tag team division in NXT is in need of some serious depth. The Authors of Pain, The Revival and DIY are the only teams really being highlighted right now. TM-61 is out of action, and Sanity have feuds with multiple singles wrestlers. I truly believe The Revival and DIY are ready to be on the main roster and when that happens whats left of the NXT Tag Team Division. The same thing could also be said for the Women’s Division. Eventually they are going to have bring some new women into the fold because Asuka, Petyon Royce, Billie Kay and Ember Moon are all going to be main roster ready within the next year. I have a feeling after Wrestlemania is over it’s going to get tough for NXT because so many are ready to be called up.
We have saw three titles change hands, a friendship destroyed and a Royal Rumble winner refusing to challenge the champion at Wrestlemania. These next few weeks are going to interesting. I am looking forward to the Battle Royal on Smackdown next week to determine the new number one contender to Bray Wyatt and the WWE Championship. Check back next week to see how it all unfolds.
Matches of the Week
Raw: Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley for the Women’s Championship
Smackdown: Bray Wyatt vs. AJ Styles vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship
205 Live: Neville vs. TJ Perkins
NXT: Tyler Bate vs. Trent Seven for the WWE UK Championship
